Many Australian small and medium enterprises are deliberately choosing to be late adopters of digital communications technology, despite being acutely aware of its benefits, according to a new study by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

Earlier this week, local papers reported that access to information--on bus arrival times--used in Singapore third-party mobile apps had been cut off by the country's primary bus operator, SBS Transit. Over 10 of such apps including SG Buses, SG NextBus and ShowNearby, with a user base of 1 million, had relied on SBS Transit's Intelligence Route Information System (Iris) to provide the data.

The government's communications minister Ed Vaizey has come out in support of the economic benefits of cloud computing.In a speech given on Monday at the UK-China Internet Forum, Vaizey said cloud computing would open the door to more business opportunities for companies.

The National Broadband Network (NBN) is Australia's biggest-ever infrastructure project, we're told. So you'd think the government could do a better job of selling its benefits than TV advertising containing little more than vague generalities and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy's magic smart dishwasher.

As the year winds down, I thought it good for me to recap what I believe to be a couple of developments in the technology scene in Malaysia.The year started cautiously with many industry pundits being unsure of how the larger economy woes would affect the ICT industry as a whole.

The government "will be allocating extra funding for the broadband network, making sure everyone benefits from the communications revolution", according to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alastair Darling.Darling is currently outlining the Budget in Parliament.